It's a typical Sunday morning and one of those days Sheila and I refer to as a "slug day". We're just going to hang out and accomplish pretty much nothing, which if you knew how Type-A we both were, is in itself an accomplishment. We're just taking the time to relax and enjoy each other with no real focus.Well, that got me thinking, because my initial reaction was we had to have something we needed to do today. Like the Kevin Bacon game, that led me to think about the week ahead, which took me to a new project I want to get started on and in turn thinking about the risk of failure involved and *poof* I remembered a quote about progress and risks. I went off searching until I found it.It's a short post this morning, but no less important than the long ones...you've got to take risks to grow your business, your skill set and your friendships/network. There are times when you've got to take a shot at something and win or lose, know that you're doing what you need to do.The cool thing about our industry and being an artist is risks come in all shapes and sizes. I've seen photographers hang on to natural light like a security blanket because they don't understand working with studio lighting. I've met photographers who are afraid to talk to people who they think of as industry icons, because they're just "little guys". I've worked with a couple of people who will some day be great artists, but they can't get over the fear of talking to their first customer. It's all about The best thing about our dreams are that they all have the potential for reality, but you've got to take your foot off first base. You don't have to let it go forever, just appreciate and respect that you had a solid hit and now it's time to move on to the next challenge.My buddy Scott Bourne, before he retired, used to end his posts with a line about "Skip and I are both rooting for you!" Well, I'm more than just rooting for you, everybody knows how to contact me - I'm here to help!Make it a great Sunday - do something you want to do, even if it's just joining Sheila and me in a "slug day". As always, hug somebody you care about and let them know they're important to you!Happy Sunday!

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"Why?"

Check out"Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog.It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're coming up on 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

Authors

Skip Cohen is President of SCU, founder of Marketing Essentials International and past president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. He's been an active participant in the photographic industry since joining Hasselblad USA in 1987 as president. He has co-authored six books on photography and actively supports dozens of projects each year involving photographic education.

Scott Bourne

Scott Bourne was the first Dean of Marketing at SCU. He helped to establish this blog as a resource for aspiring and working professional photographers. He's an educator, artist, author and from time to time you'll see his name on guest posts that are always relevant to photography and marketing!